face
™Ù¤ÏÏ·
∫ÔÓÈÙÔÔ‡ÏÔ˘
ŒÓ· Ì ÙË ı¿Ï·ÛÛ·
∏ ™Ù¤ÏÏ· ∫ÔÓÈÙÔÔ‡ÏÔ˘ ÁÂÓÓ‹ıËΠÛÙË ¡¿ÍÔ. ∫·Ù¿ÁÂÙ·È ·fi
ÙËÓ ÂÚ›ÊËÌË ÔÈÎÔÁ¤ÓÂÈ· ÙˆÓ "∫ÔÓÈÙÔÔ˘Ï¤ˆÓ. ∏ ÌËÙ¤Ú· Ù˘
Â›Ó·È Ë ÁÓˆÛÙ‹ ÙÚ·ÁÔ˘‰›ÛÙÚÈ· ÙÔ˘ ÓËÛÈÒÙÈÎÔ˘ ÙÚ·ÁÔ˘‰ÈÔ‡,
∞ÁÁÂÏÈ΋ ∫ÔÓÈÙÔÔ‡ÏÔ˘. ¢›Ï· Ù˘ Ë ™Ù¤ÏÏ· ÁÓÒÚÈÛÂ Î·È ·Á¿ËÛ ÙÔ ÂÏÏËÓÈÎfi ÙÚ·ÁÔ‡‰È, ÁÂÁÔÓfi˜ Ô˘ ÙËÓ Ô‰‹ÁËÛ Û ËÏÈΛ· ÔÎÙÒ ÂÙÒÓ ÛÙËÓ ÂÁÁÚ·Ê‹ Ù˘ ÛÙÔ ∂ıÓÈÎfi ø‰Â›Ô. ªÂÙ¿ ·fi
ÌÈ· ¿ÍÈ· ÔÚ›· Ì ηٷÍȈ̤ÓÔ˘˜ ηÏÏÈÙ¤¯Ó˜ ÛÙÔ ÂÏÏËÓÈÎfi
ÙÚ·ÁÔ‡‰È, Û˘ÓÂÚÁ¿˙ÂÙ·È Ì ÙÔÓ ¶¿ÚÈÔ ÛÙ· ¡ËÛÈÒÙÈη, Ì ÙÔÓ
°È¿ÓÓË ªÚÎfiÔ˘ÏÔ, ÙÚ·ÁÔ˘‰¿ ª¿ÓÔ ∂Ï¢ıÂÚ›Ô˘, Ì ÙÔÓ
¶·Û¯¿ÏË ΔÂÚ˙‹ Î·È Ì ¿ÏÏÔ˘˜ ηÏÏÈÙ¤¯Ó˜.
Stella Konitopoulou was born
on Naxos island, a
descendent of the celebrated
Konitopoulos family. From
her mother, distinguished
folk singer, Aggeliki
Konitopoulou, Stella learned
and loved Greek folk songs.
This motivated her to enroll
in the National Odeon at the
age of 8. Her career boasts
collaborations with acclaimed
artists, including Yiannis
Parios’ for the "Nissiotika"
album, Yiannis Markopoulos,
Manos Eleftheriou, and
Paschalis Terzis.
Δ∂XTS BABIS PAPADATOS
Stella
Konitopoulou
Inspired
by the Sea
∫∂πª∂¡∞ ª¶∞ª¶∏™ ¶∞¶∞¢∞Δ√™
82 OnBlue
83
face
ΔÔ fiÓÔÌ· Ô˘ ʤÚÂȘ ‹Ù·Ó ÌÂÓ ‰È·‚·Ù‹ÚÈÔ ÁÈ· Û¤Ó·, ·ÏÏ¿ Î·È ÙÚÔ¯Ô¤‰Ë ÁÈ· Ó· ‰È·ÎÚÈı›˜
Î·È Û ¿ÏÏ· ›‰Ë ÙÚ·ÁÔ˘‰ÈÔ‡;
¶Ôχ ˆÚ·›· ÂÚÒÙËÛË. ¶ÔÏϤ˜ ÊÔÚ¤˜ ÛÙËÓ ÔÚ›· ÌÔ˘ ÙÔ ÛΤÊÙËη ·˘Ùfi, fiÙ·Ó ÌÔ˘ ‰fiıËΠ¢ηÈÚ›· Ó· ÙÚ·ÁÔ˘‰‹Ûˆ Î·È ¿ÏÏÔ Â›‰Ô˜ ÙÚ·ÁÔ˘‰ÈÔ‡ ÂÎÙfi˜ ·fi ÙÔ ÓËÛÈÒÙÈÎÔ. ŸÌˆ˜ fiÙ·Ó
Ô ÎfiÛÌÔ˜ Ù· ¿ÎÔ˘ÁÂ, ÓfiÌÈ˙ fiÙÈ ‹Ù·Ó ÓËÛÈÒÙÈη. ∞˘Ùfi ÛËÌ·›ÓÂÈ fiÙÈ Ì ¤¯ÂÈ Ù·˘Ù›ÛÂÈ Ì ·˘Ùfi
ÙÔ Â›‰Ô˜. ∞fi ÙËÓ ¿ÏÏË fï˜, ‰ÂÓ ÌÂÙ·ÓÈÒÓˆ ÁÈ·Ù› ·˘Ùfi ¤Ì·ı· ·fi ÌÈÎÚ‹, ·fi ÙËÓ ÔÈÎÔÁ¤ÓÂÈ· ÌÔ˘.
ΔÈ ÈÛÙ‡ÂȘ fiÙÈ Î¤Ú‰ÈÛ˜ Î·È ÙÈ ¤¯·Û˜ ·ÎÔÏÔ˘ıÒÓÙ·˜ ÙÔ ÓËÛÈÒÙÈÎÔ ÙÚ·ÁÔ‡‰È;
∫¤Ú‰ÈÛ· fiÏË ·˘Ù‹ ÙËÓ ‰È·‰ÚÔÌ‹ Ô˘ ÌÔ˘ ¤‰ˆÛ ·˘Ùfi ÙÔ ÙÚ·ÁÔ‡‰È. ∞ÓÙÈÌÂÙÒÈÛ· ÔÏϤ˜
‰˘ÛÎÔϛ˜ Û fiÏË ·˘Ù‹ ÙËÓ ÔÚ›·, ·ÏÏ¿ ÓÔÌ›˙ˆ fiÙÈ ‚Á‹Î· Ôχ ‰˘Ó·Ù‹.
™ ‹ ÌÂ Ú · Ô Î fi Û Ì Ô ˜ ‰ Â Ó · Î Ô ‡ Â È  · Ú · ‰ Ô Û È · Î ¿ Ù Ú · Á Ô ‡ ‰ È · , Â › Ó · È  Ú ¿ Á Ì · Ù È ¤ Ù Û È ; ∂  › Û Ë ˜  È Û Ù Â ‡ ˆ
fiÙÈ ÙÔ ÓËÛÈÒÙÈÎÔ Ù Ú·ÁÔ‡‰È ‰ÂÓ ÚÔˆıÂ›Ù·È ·fi ÙËÓ ÔÏÈÙ›· Î·È ·fi Ù· ªª∂. ΔÔ ÛÓÔÌ¿ÚÔ˘Ó,
ÙÔ ·ÔʇÁÔ˘Ó Î·È ÁÈ· ÔÈÔ˘˜ ÏfiÁÔ˘˜;
ÕÚÓËÛË Î·È ÛÓÔÌÈÛÌfi ¤¯ˆ ÓÔÈÒÛÂÈ ÎÈ ÂÁÒ Â›Û˘, ÁÈ·Ù› ÂÎÚÔÛˆÒ ·˘ÙfiÓ ÙÔÓ ¯ÒÚÔ. ªÈ·
‰˘ÛÎÔÏ›·, ·fi Ù· ̤۷ Ô˘ ÚÔˆıÔ‡Ó ¤Ó· ·ÓÔ‡ÛÈÔ, ÂÊ‹ÌÂÚÔ ÙÚ·ÁÔ‡‰È, Ì ÛÙfi¯Ô Ó· ηÚˆıÔ‡Ó Î¿ÔÈ· ÔÛ¿. ∞fi ÙËÓ ¿ÏÏË, Ë ÔÏÈÙ›· Â›Ó·È ¿ÓÙ· fiÏÔ ˘ÔÛ¯¤ÛÂȘ Î·È Ô˘ÛÈ·ÛÙÈο
‰ÂÓ ÂӉȷʤÚÂÙ·È Î·È ÙfiÛÔ ÁÈ· οÔÈ· Ú¿ÁÌ·Ù·. ŸÌˆ˜ Ô ÎfiÛÌÔ˜, Ô ŒÏÏËÓ·˜ fiÙ·Ó ı· ‰È·ÛΉ¿ÛÂÈ, fiÙ·Ó ı· ÂÎÊÚ¿ÛÂÈ Ù· ·ÈÛı‹Ì·Ù· ÙÔ˘, ÙfiÙ ı· ηٷʇÁÂÈ ÛÙÔ ÓËÛÈÒÙÈÎÔ – ‰ËÌÔÙÈÎfi
ÙÚ·ÁÔ‡‰È, Ô Ï·fi˜ ͤÚÂÈ ÂÚÈÛÛfiÙÂÚ· .
£ÂˆÚÒ fiÙÈ Ë ÔÈÎÔÁ¤ÓÂÈ·
ÙˆÓ ∫ÔÓÈÙÔÔ˘Ï·›ˆÓ
¤¯ÂÈ ÛÙËÚ›ÍÂÈ
ÙÔ ÓËÛÈÒÙÈÎÔ ÙÚ·ÁÔ‡‰È
84 OnBlue
Was your family legacy a sort of a ‘passport’
for you or an obstacle to distinguish yourself
in other music genres?
Good question. I’ve wondered about that
throughout my career, when I was offered the
opportunity to interpret different genres.
Listeners took anything I did to be folk island
music. That means that the audience
identifies me with that genre. I don’t really
regret sticking with it, because that’s what
I’ve been taught by my family from a very
early age.
What do you believe you have gained by
following the folk island music?
I gained a great career. I have faced my share
of hardships during this career, but I think
that I’ve come out of it a much stronger
person.
{
OnBlue 85
face
Would you agree that listeners today don’t
care too much about traditional music ? I’ve
also noticed that folk island music is not
adequately promoted by the state and the
media. Do you think that the genre is being
looked down upon or avoided for some
reason?
I have felt rejection and snobbery myself as a
representative of this kind of music. On one
hand, the media promotes a certain type of
unsubstantial, ephemeral hits that bring in
large amounts of revenue and on the other,
the state makes promises without being
genuinely interested in such things. Nevertheless, when the simple Greek folk want to
express themselves, they turn to the music of
the islands, folk music. They know best.
{
I believe that the
Konitopoulos family
has contributed a lot
to folk island music
Ô ŒÏÏËÓ·˜ ¿ÓÙ· ı· ‰È·ÛΉ¿˙ÂÈ Ì ÓËÛÈÒÙÈÎÔ ÙÚ·ÁÔ‡‰È
{
Œ¯ÂÈ ·Ú·ÙËÚËı› fiÙÈ ÙÔ ÓËÛÈÒÙÈÎÔ ÙÚ·ÁÔ‡‰È ¤¯ÂÈ Î·ÎÔÔÈËı› Î·È ÁÈ’ ·˘Ùfi Ôχ˜ ÎfiÛÌÔ˜ ÓÔÈ ÒıÂÈ ÌÈ· ‰˘ÛÊÔÚ›· ˆ˜ ÚÔ˜ ÙÔÓ Ù›ÙÏÔ, ÓËÛÈÒÙÈÎÔ ÙÚ·ÁÔ‡‰È.
£ÂˆÚÒ fiÙÈ Ë ÔÈÎÔÁ¤ÓÂÈ· ÙˆÓ ∫ÔÓÈÙÔÔ˘Ï·›ˆÓ ÙÔ ¤¯ÂÈ ÛÙËÚ›ÍÂÈ, ÙÔ ¤¯ÂÈ Î¿ÓÂÈ ÈÔ ÁÓˆÛÙfi, fiˆ˜
Â›Û˘ ¤¯ÂÈ ‚Á¿ÏÂÈ Î·È Î·Ï¤˜ ʈӤ˜. ∞ÏÏ¿ fiˆ˜ ˘¿Ú¯Ô˘Ó οÔÈ· ÛԢͤ ÛÙÔ ÙÚ·ÁÔ‡‰È ÁÂÓÈο, ¤ÙÛÈ ˘¿Ú¯Ô˘Ó ÂÊ‹ÌÂÚ· Î·È ·ÓÔ‡ÛÈ· «ÓËÛÈÒÙÈη».
™¯¤‰È·, Î·È Û˘Ó·˘Ï›Â˜ ÁÈ· ÙÔ Î·ÏÔη›ÚÈ.
Œ¯ˆ ‹‰Ë ÍÂÎÈÓ‹ÛÂÈ ÂÚÈԉ›˜ ·Ó¿ ÙËÓ ∂ÏÏ¿‰· Ô˘ ı· ÙÂÏÂÈÒÛÔ˘Ó ÙÔ ™Â٤̂ÚÈÔ. ªÂÙ¿ ÛÙËÓ
∞ÌÂÚÈ΋, ÛÙËÓ πÙ·Ï›· Î·È Û˘ÁÎÂÎÚÈ̤ӷ ÛÙËÓ ∫·Ï·‚Ú›· Û ¤Ó· ÊÂÛÙÈ‚¿Ï ÁÈ· ÙÔ˘˜ ÂΛ ŒÏÏËÓ˜. ∞Ú¯¤˜ √ÎÙˆ‚Ú›Ô˘ ΢ÎÏÔÊÔÚ› ÙÔ Î·ÈÓÔ‡ÚÁÈÔ ÌÔ˘ cd Ì Ì¿ÏÔ˘˜ Î·È ÙÚ·ÁÔ‡‰È· ÙÔ˘
Á¿ÌÔ˘ ·fi fiÏË ÙËÓ ∂ÏÏ¿‰·. ∂›Û˘ ı· οӈ ÌÈ· Û˘ÌÌÂÙÔ¯‹ ÛÙÔ cd Ù˘ Ì·Ì¿˜ ÌÔ˘, Ù˘ ∞ÁÁÂÏÈ΋˜ ∫ÔÓÈÙÔÔ‡ÏÔ˘, ÓÔÈÒıÔÓÙ·˜ ÌÂÁ¿ÏË ¯·Ú¿ Ô˘ Û˘Ó·ÓÙÈfiÌ·ÛÙ ‰ÈÛÎÔÁÚ·ÊÈο, ÁÈ·Ù› ÂÎÙfi˜
·fi ÙÔ fiÙÈ Â›Ó·È Ì·Ì¿ ÌÔ˘, Â›Ó·È Î·È Ô ¿ÓıÚˆÔ˜ Ô˘ ÌÔ˘ ¤Ì·ı ÙÔ ÓËÛÈÒÙÈÎÔ ÙÚ·ÁÔ‡‰È. ∂›Û˘ Â›Ó·È ÌÂÁ¿ÏË Ë ÙÈÌ‹ Ô˘ ÌÔ˘ ¤Î·Ó ÙÔ Û˘ÁÎÚfiÙËÌ· Magic de Spell Ó· οÓÔ˘Ì ̷˙› ¤Ó·
ÙÚ·ÁÔ‡‰È ÛÙÔÓ Î·ÈÓÔ‡ÚÁÈÔ ÙÔ˘˜ ‰›ÛÎÔ Ì ¤Ó· ÙÚ·ÁÔ‡‰È ¤ÎÏËÍË Î·È Û ̤ӷ ÌÂÁ¿ÏË ¯·Ú¿ Ó·
ÙÚ·ÁÔ˘‰‹Ûˆ Ì ¤Ó· ÚÔÎ Û˘ÁÎÚfiÙËÌ·.
™Ù¤ÏÏ· Û ¢¯·ÚÈÛÙÒ Î·È ¿ÓÙ· Ó· Ì·˜ ‰È·ÛΉ¿˙ÂȘ.
∫·È ÂÁÒ Û ¢¯·ÚÈÛÙÒ.
86 OnBlue
Some claim that folk island music has been
distorted and therefore people have mixed
feelings about the title "folk island music".
I think that my family has contributed a lot to
this genre by making it known to a wider
audience and that it has produced very good
singers. On some instances, as with any kind
of music, there have been ephemeral hits
labeled "island folk" that are not faithful to the
genre.
A few words about your plans and upcoming
summer concerts?
I have already started a tour throughout
Greece, which will be done in September.
Next on my list are the United States and
Italy, Calabria specifically, for a festival for
the local Greeks. My new album with ballos
dances and wedding songs from all over
Greece will be released in early October. I’m
also working with my mother, Aggeliki, on
her new album. We are very happy to be
working together, as she is the person that
taught me folk island music. Finally, I feel
privileged that the band Magic de Spell asked
me to do a ‘surprise’ song with them for their
new album and I’m especially excited to be
singing with a rock group.
OnBlue 87